Seoul: Former home-run king Park Byung-ho is beginning his coaching career with his old club, the Kiwoom Heroes, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team announced Tuesday. The 39-year-old, who retired after the 2025 season with the Samsung Lions, has been appointed chief coach for the reserve squad, marking his return to the franchise where he enjoyed the most successful years of his career.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park was drafted by the LG Twins in 2005 and rose to prominence after a 2011 trade to the Nexen Heroes, now known as Kiwoom. During his tenure, he became one of the KBO's most feared sluggers. Park nabbed the first of his two MVP awards in 2012 after leading the league with 31 home runs and 105 RBIs. He was voted the MVP again in 2013, when he topped the KBO with 37 home runs and 117 RBIs.
In 2014, Park launched 52 home runs, becoming only the third player in KBO history to surpass the half-century mark in home runs. He followed that up with 53 home runs, remaining the only player with back-to-back 50-homer campaigns. In 2015, Park set a single-season record with 146 RBIs, a mark broken this year by his Lions teammate, Lewin Diaz, who had 158. Park led the KBO in homers for four consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2015, the longest streak in league history. He was the home run king six times overall, also a KBO record, and is the first player with five consecutive 100-RBI seasons.
Park ranks fourth on the all-time list with 418 home runs and 10th overall with 1,244 RBIs. He also spent two seasons with the Minnesota Twins and their Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, New York, from 2016 to 2017. Despite launching 35 home runs while batting .275 with the Wiz three years ago, his performance has declined. In 2025, he appeared in only 77 games for the Lions, batting .199 with 15 home runs - his fewest since 2011.
The Kiwoom Heroes expressed their gratitude in a statement, saying, "Our new coach Park Byung-ho is one of the most symbolic players in Heroes history. He represented the team as a leading slugger and a league icon. We deeply thank him for his dedication and contribution." The club added that it expects Park's professionalism and experience to serve as "a positive influence" on the team's young players as he begins "the second stage of his baseball life."